Time Delay Characteristic of Industrial Wireless Networks Based on IEEE 802.15.4a

The IEEE 802.15.4a standard provides a framework for low-data-rate communication systems, typically sensor networks. In this paper, we established a realistic environment for the time delay characteristic of industrial network based on IEEE 802.15.4a. Several sets of practical experiments are conducted to study its various features, including the effects of 1) numeral wireless nodes, 2) numeral data packets, 3) data transmissions with different upper-layer protocols, 4) physical distance between nodes, and 5) adding and reducing the number of the wireless nodes. The results show that IEEE 802.15.4a is suitable for some industrial applications that have more relaxed throughput requirements and time-delay. Some issues that could degrade the network performance are also discussed.